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DESIGN THE ALLURE WAY
KETI BICOLLI , Strategy and Design Principal, shares her approach to workplace design and the emerging societal shifts that affect it
In my experience, inspiration isn’t something that just comes to you; it’s something you look for and cultivate. Inspiration shouldn’t come from somewhere completely unrelated to the project, it should come from the culture, the industry, and the client’s identity. We nd that inspiration from the de ne phase. I don’t dwell on ‘trends’ in a super cial way – colours, etc. – but I do monitor societal shi s. We live in stressful times with issues that are more global, and there are themes that arise in almost all projects. Wellness is one, which became obvious a er the pandemic. It encapsulates so many things: plantscaping and biophilia, the quality of air and lighting, creating a sense of calm, as well as introducing movement to encourage people to leave their workstation to collaborate to create this dance of social bonding that was missing. Sustainability is another theme. e new generation coming into the work market comes with new expectations and criteria to choose whether to work for company X or Y. Regardless of their commitments or their mindset, the impact that sustainability can have on talent attraction and retention is more tangible to employers now. e relationship between personal life and work life is another theme. Before the pandemic, workplaces were beginning to mix two worlds: corporate but with a more domestic look and feel. With the prevalence of hybrid work post-pandemic, if people want to have that ‘at home’ vibe, they stay at home. But what do they want when they go to work? It’s related to the service and the experience; this mix between hospitality, retail, workspace. Companies are now thinking about this coming together of many worlds, each with di erent things to o er. When we talk about a brand’s identity, it will no longer just be about the logo and the colours, it will be about the user experience from di erent touchpoints. e workplace is one of those touchpoints where we need to o er this cohesive experience in the universe of the brand.
Keti Bicolli is an architect and has specialised in workplace design for the last 10 years. She works with a team of designers and strategists at Allure to find the right solutions for brands.
T he three main stages of an Allure project are de ne, design, and deliver. Each project has its own uniqueness that we explore during the de ne phase. We capture something almost intangible about each company – the experience and the emotion we want to convey through the project – we call this the ‘aura’. Within this, we analyse three pillars: people, brand, space. People describes the numbers, how companies work, their culture and if they want to transform their ways of working, any history we must consider, their habits, teams, and synergies. Brand is about the vision and how the brand wants to represent itself – the image, the client experience, the sta experience, and their values. Space refers to the architectural and technical analysis of the space, considering any points that could become constraints. We approach our clients with a humble mindset; we want to listen and understand them to get the fullest view of their brand. We consider what makes the company unique, if sta feel in line with this marketing and the storytelling of the company. We always try to question ourselves to get the best creative solution that speaks to the client. In the end, it’s their project, not ours as designers.
“Inspiration is something you look for and cultivate… it comes from the culture, the industry, and the client’s identity”
AURA
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